Method and apparatus for removing oil spills

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for removing oil and oil containment for oil spills using crushed glass.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to removal of oil spills,specifically, the invention relates to methods and apparatus forremoving oil spills using crushed glass.

BACKGROUND ART

Numerous methods and apparatus for removal of oil spills are well knownand established in the art.

In recent years there has been an ever increasing awareness of thedevastating environmental damage that can be caused by oil spills. It iswell recognized that an extremely important aspect of minimizing damagefrom an oil spill is the prompt containment and collection of thespilled oil. Effective collection of spilled oil ideally involves theabsorption of oil in some absorption medium that can be easily raked orotherwise picked up from the surface upon which the oil has spilled.Nevertheless, despite intensive research and testing, the onlyabsorption substances which are at all suitable for use in cleaning upoil spills involve significant defects or difficulties.

Some conventional oil absorbents currently in commercial use are madefrom polypropylene. Polypropylene absorbs hydrocarbons but ishydrophobic. That is, it is water repellent. However, polypropylene hasa limited oil absorbing capacity, and is not at all biodegradable. Also,polypropylene is quite expensive to use in the large quantitiesnecessary to deal with major oil spills. Other methods for oil removalinclude using absorbents containing polyethylene films, magneticmaterials in combination with polyurethane, such as polyurethanecontaining iron powder, magnetic separation with magnetite andmaghemite, acoustic energy, ultrasonic eneregy, in-situ combustion ofoil, polyether containing isocynate end groups, solidifiers,demulsifying agents, surface washing agents and dispersants combinationpolymers such as viscose rayon, polyamide fibers and small rubberadhering to the fibers.

Yet other efforts require using fish scale powder or biosurfactants suchas rhamnolipid as an environmentally friendly and economically viableremediation option. Efforts also include finding other biodegradable oilabsorbent materials suitable for cleaning up oil spills. Otherbiodegradation agents including micro-organisms capable of degradinghydrocarbons, liposomes, bacterial mixtures, enzymes, or fertilizershave been proposed, however, only some of these are commercially viable.For example, peat moss has been used for this purpose. However, in theform in which it is obtainable commercially, peat moss contains asignificant amount of impurities such as a sand and carbon. Also, peatmoss does not float on water well and is limited in its absorptioncapacity for oil. For example, one pound of peat moss will absorb aboutfive pounds of oil. In addition, peat moss is not totally biodegradable.Organoclay made by a reaction of smectite clay and quaternary ammoniumcompound have also been used as oil spill remediation agents.

Another substance which has been tested for its oil absorbent capacityin cleaning up oil spills is a seaweed-based product that is normallysold as a soil conditioner. This product is sold under the registeredtrademark, AFRIKELP, and is comprised of a blend of selected brownseaweeds found off the southern coast of the African continent. However,this product is rather expensive and has a limited oil absorptioncapability. Biodegradable remedies for removing oil from spills alsoinclude using coconut coir pit, dried corn cobs in their natural stateor raw cotton. Other chemical dispersants, gelling agents, inorganicclays, foam plastics, booms, skimmers are also well known in the art.

Most of the existing materials are either manufactured for remediationof oil spills and thus have real costs associated with the manufactureor require harvesting which may be equally labor intensive. Further,existing art does not teach methods and apparatus with a concomitanteffect of recycling undesirable waste, which would otherwise occupylandfills.

Accordingly, the need exists for an improved oil remediation method andapparatus that uses discarded recyclable materials, with minimal cost ofprocessing and biohazard for marine life. Of course, the presentinvention may be used in a multitude of systems where similar oilremoval capabilities are desired. Thus, the present invention should notbe interpreted as being, limited to application in removal of oil fromoil spills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present method in general provides methods and apparatus forremoving oil from oil spills and preventing oil spills from occurring.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a method ofremoving oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising the step ofapplying crushed glass to the surface. The application of crushed glassgenerally reduces the quantity of oil from the surface. Further, the oilabsorbed on the crushed glass is recycled as petroleum-silica basedproduct, water repellent, roof shingles, or asphalt.

In a preferred embodiment the surfaces may include water, saline water,earth, ground, dirt, mud, gravel, land surrounding water bodies, landbeneath water bodies, sand, seashore, estuary, bay, gulf, oceans, lakesor rivers.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the crushed glassused in removing oil is recyclable glass; however, non-recyclable glassmay also be used. Also preferably, crushed glass includes colored glass;however, other non-colored glass may also be used. This crushed glassmay be prepared using an impact crusher, hammer mill, cone crusher or aroller crusher. Preferably, the recyclable glass is crushed using rollercrusher. The crushed glass is pre-crushed and pre-screened, asnecessary. The crushed glass is pre-screened through a mesh, which mayinclude an inch mesh, a combination of double or triple deck screens orat least two meshes. Once pre-screened through the mesh, the crushedglass is dried after to at least 100° F., in a preferred embodiment, orto at least 350° F. in another preferred embodiment. Subsequently, thecrushed glass is screened through at least a 40 mesh in a preferredembodiment, or through a 30 mesh in another preferred embodiment, orthrough a 20 mesh, in yet another preferred embodiment.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides a methodof removing oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising the step ofapplying crushed glass to the surface, whereby quantity of oil isreduced from the surface, wherein the crushed glass is pre-crushed,pre-screened, dried and screened prior to application on the surface.Preferably, the crushed glass is dried to temperature about 200-350° F.Also preferably, the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40 mesh.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides anapparatus for removing oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising anapplication member and a collection member. The application member iscapable of applying crushed glass on the surface, whereas the collectionmember is capable of collecting oil absorbed on the crushed glass.Further, the crushed glass is pre-crushed, pre-screened, dried andscreened prior to applying the crushed glass on the surface. Preferably,the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40 mesh. Also, preferably,the crushed glass is dried to a temperature about 200-350° F. Further,the oil absorbed on the crushed glass is recycled as petroleum-silicabased product, water repellent, roof shingles, or asphalt.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a methodof preventing oil spills from a container having oil, comprising thestep of surrounding the oil container at least in part with a layer ofcrushed glass. The crushed glass is pre-crushed, pre-screened, dried andscreened prior to surrounding the oil container with crushed glass.Preferably, the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40 mesh. Alsopreferably, the crushed glass is dried to a temperature about 200-350°F. In a preferred embodiment, the oil container is an underground oilstorage tank.

In sum, the present invention represents a significant improvement overthe prior art in many ways, including using recyclable discardedmaterial, and ease of use. These and other objects and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent from the detailed descriptionaccompanying the drawings.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present method in general provides methods and apparatus forremoving oil from oil spills and preventing oil spills from occurring.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a method ofremoving oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising the step ofapplying crushed glass to the surface. The application of generallyreduces the quantity of oil from the surface.

Oil

Any petroleum based product, including crude oil, gasoline, diesel andpaint thinners or any inflammable fluid or solid.

In a preferred embodiment the surfaces may include water, saline water,earth, ground, dirt, mud, gravel, land surrounding water bodies, landbeneath water bodies, sand, seashore, estuary, bay, gulf, oceans, lakesor rivers.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the crushed glassused in removing oil is recyclable glass; however, non-recyclable glassmay also be used. Also preferably crushed glass includes colored glass;however, other non-colored glass may also be used.

A testing of colored crushed glass, which may include a combination or amixture of recyclable glass, for example, clear or colored beer bottlesand chemical containers, indicated that this combination had a chemicalcontent as shown below: Sample pH Calcium Magnesium Sodium Est. CEC031504A 9.9  4.2 ppm 0.164 ppm 108 ppm 4.461 031504B 10.0 4.00 ppm 0.154ppm 112 ppm 4.264

A testing of clear crushed glass showed chemical content of crushedglass as below: Sample pH Calcium Magnesium Sodium Est. CEC 403 10.3 220ppm 10 ppm 83 ppm 1.245 402 Soluble salts - 16 MHOS × 10⁻⁵

The inventor also observed that while both colored and clear glassabsorbed oil, clear glass absorbed water better than colored glass. Thisdifference may be accounted by the fact that colored glass has 73 timeshigher concentration of Sodium as compared to Calcium and Magnesium, asshown below:

-   -   [Na]: [[Ca]+[Mg]]:: 0.36:1 for clear glass; and    -   [Na]: [[Ca]+[Mg]]:: 26:1 for mixed glass,

Increased sodium concentration may enhance oil absorption. While,applicant believes increased oil absorption may be based on sodiumconcentration, the invention is not limited by this theory, and otherreasons may well explain the observed difference in oil adsorption.

In a preferred embodiment, the crushed glass may be prepared using animpact crusher, hammer mill, cone crusher or a roller crusher.Preferably, the recyclable glass is crushed using roller crusher.Inventor has further observed that better oil adsorption occurs when theglass is crushed using a roller crusher.

Any order of pre-crushing, pre-screening, crushing, and drying may beused. In a preferred embodiment however, the crushed glass is firstpre-crushed and pre-screened, as necessary. If the glass is clean, nopre-crushing or pre-screening is required. The pre-crushed glass ispre-screened through a mesh, which may include an inch mesh, acombination of double or triple deck screens or at least two meshes.Once pre-screened through the mesh, the glass is further crushed using aroller crusher and subsequently, the crushed glass is dried after to atleast 100° F. in a preferred embodiment, or to at least 350° F. inanother preferred embodiment. Subsequently, the crushed glass isscreened through at least a 40 mesh in a preferred embodiment, orthrough a 30 mesh in another preferred embodiment, or through a 20 mesh,in yet another preferred embodiment.

Generally 40, 30, 20 mesh imply about 40×40, 30×30 and 20×20 number ofwires running along a vertical and horizontal axis, per inch. Thereforean inch mesh would indicate that each grid of the mesh is 1″×1″, or 40mesh would indicate that each grid is 1/40″×1/40″ in width and length.For 40 mesh, the wire diameter is about 0.01″. Such meshes arecommercially available as single, double or triple decked screens. For,example, such meshes are commercially available at Twin City Wire,Minnesota. Further, the oil absorbed on the crushed glass is recycled aspetroleum-silica based product, water repellent, roof shingles, orasphalt.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides a methodof removing oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising the step ofapplying crushed glass to the surface, whereby quantity of oil isreduced from the surface, wherein the crushed glass is pre-crushed,pre-screened, crushed, dried and screened prior to application on thesurface. Preferably, the crushed glass is dried to temperature about200-350° F. Also preferably, the crushed glass is screened with at leasta 40 mesh.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides anapparatus for removing oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising anapplication member and a collection member. The application member mayinclude a nozzle for spraying crushed glass. Wider nozzles may be usedto cover greater surface area of application. Generally, the applicationmember is capable of applying crushed glass on the surface, whereas thecollection member is capable of collecting oil absorbed on the crushedglass. The collection members may include altered fishing nets, withreduced net size, large wired receiving baskets or any organic orinorganic net, such as steel wire or polymer based nets for receivingclumps of oil-crushed glass mixtures. Once the clumped mixtures areretrieved they may be recycled in any desirable way. In one embodiment,more crushed glass may be added to alter the consistency of the clump,which may be then recycled as asphalt. Further, the crushed glass ispre-crushed, pre-screened, crushed, dried and screened prior to applyingthe crushed glass on the surface. Preferably, the crushed glass isscreened with at least a 40 mesh. Also, preferably, the crushed glass isdried to a temperature about 200-350° F. Further, the oil absorbed onthe crushed glass is recycled as petroleum-silica based product, waterrepellent, roof shingles, or asphalt.

Other well known techniques, such as helicopter drop of fire retardants,known to one of ordinary skill in the art may also be used fordispersing crushed glass on a desired surface of application.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a methodof preventing oil spills from a container having oil, comprising thestep of surrounding the oil container at least in part with a layer ofcrushed glass. The crushed glass is pre-crushed, pre-screened, crushed,dried and screened prior to surrounding the oil container with crushedglass. Preferably, the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40mesh. Also preferably, the crushed glass is dried to a temperature about200-350° F. In a preferred embodiment, the oil container is anunderground oil storage tank. Other underground or over the groundcontainers are also contemplated. Other uses also include surroundingoil tankers in the high seas and river at least in part with crushedglass.

Following examples illustrate the use of crushed glass for removing oil.These examples are for illustration only and should not be deemed tolimit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE I

Colored crushed glass, screened though 40 mesh was applied on cleanwater, without oil. The crushed glass was applied on the water surfaceuntil it sank. The water was poured out from the container and thecrushed glass was removed after about an hour. The crushed glass wasobserved and it was determined that the crushed glass did not absorb thewater.

EXAMPLE II

Oil was poured in a tank containing water to simulate an oil spill.Crushed glass was applied on the surface of the oil spill. The crushedglass noticeably adsorbed the oil and sank to the bottom of the tank ina clump. The water from the tank was emptied out. The crushed glass-oilmixture came out bonded together. More crushed glass was added to thecrushed glass-oil mixture and was removed. Adding additional glassformed a ball with a petroleum base, which may be further recycled andused for other purposes.

EXAMPLE III

Oil was poured in a tank containing water to simulate an oil spill.Colored screened crushed glass was applied on the surface of the oilspill. The crushed glass noticeably adsorbed the oil and sank to thebottom of the tank in a clump. The crushed glass-oil mixture clump wasleft to sit on the bottom of the water tank for almost three months. Thecrushed glass-oil mixture was still clumped together and the water aboveit was clear. Water did not get into the mixture.

EXAMPLE IV

Oil was poured in a tank containing water to simulate an oil spill.Various petroleum products such as motor oil, transmission oil,hydraulic oil, gasoline and thinners were used. Crushed glass screenedthrough 40 mesh was applied on the surface of the oil spill. The crushedglass noticeably adsorbed the oil and sank to the bottom of the tank ina clump. Other mesh sizes were used; however, best results were obtainedby 40 mesh.

EXAMPLE V

Oil was poured in a tank containing water to simulate an oil spill.Glass was crushed using an impact crusher and a roller crusher. Thecrushed glass was applied on the water surface until it sank. Impactcrushed glass appeared to adsorb more water when emptied into cleanwater, which later turned into mud. The glass crushed with the rollcrusher adsorbed oil better than glass crushed by an impact crusher.This may be because glass becomes more porous upon impact from theimpact crusher.

EXAMPLE VI

Mixed-colored and clear crushed glass coming out of the dryer at thesame temperature were separately applied on a water surface until theysank. When clear crushed glass was applied to a clean tank of water, itappeared to absorb water and turn into mud.

EXAMPLE VII

Oil was poured in a tank containing sand and water to simulate an oilspill. Crushed glass was applied to the surface of the water containingoil. The crushed glass adsorbed oil and sunk. Oil sinking to the bottomof a sand water bed was tested. After allowing the crushed glass-oilmixture to sit in the water tank for one week, the water was dumped andthe glass-oil mixture was allowed to sit for another week on the sandbed. The oil adsorbed in the crushed glass did not appear to penetratethe sand bed.

The method and apparatus for removing oil of the present invention mayhave other applications aside from use in oil spills. Thus, although theinvention has been herein shown and described in what is perceived to bethe most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not intended to be limited to the specificembodiments set forth above. Rather, it is recognized that modificationsmay be made by one of skill in the art of the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit or intent of the invention and, therefore, theinvention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to thesubject matter of the appended claims.

1. A method of removing oil from oil containing surfaces, comprising thestep of: applying crushed glass to said surface, whereby the quantity ofoil is reduced from the surface and wherein the crushed lass is dried toat least 100° F.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said surfaceincludes water containing oil.
 3. A method according to claim 1, whereinthe surface includes saline water containing oil.
 4. A method accordingto claim 1, wherein the surface is earth, ground, dirt, mud or gravel.5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the surface is land surroundingwater bodies, land beneath water bodies, sand, seashore, estuary, bay orgulf, oceans, lakes or rivers.
 6. A method according to claim 1, whereinthe crushed glass is recyclable glass.
 7. A method according to claim 1,wherein the crushed glass is crushed using an impact crusher, hammermill, cone crusher or a roller crusher.
 8. A method according to claim1, wherein the crushed glass is crushed using a roller crusher
 9. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the crushed glass is pre-crushedand pre-screened.
 10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the crushedglass is colored glass.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein thecrushed glass is further crushed.
 12. A method according to claim 11,wherein the resultant crushed glass is subsequently screened through atleast one mesh.
 13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the mesh isan inch mesh.
 14. A method according to claim 11, wherein the crushedglass is screened through at least two meshes.
 15. A method according toclaim 11, wherein the crushed glass is dried after screening through themesh.
 16. (canceled)
 17. A method according to claim 15, wherein thecrushed glass is dried to at least 350° F.
 18. A method according toclaim 16, wherein the crushed glass is further screened through at leasta 40 mesh.
 19. A method according to claim 16, wherein the crushed glassis further screened through a 30 mesh.
 20. A method according to claim16, wherein the crushed glass is further screened through a 20 mesh. 21.A method according to claim 1, wherein the oil adsorbed on the crushedglass is further recycled as petroleum silica based product, waterrepellant product, roof shingles or asphalt.
 22. A method of removingoil from oil containing surfaces, comprising the step of: applyingcrushed glass to said surface, whereby quantity of oil is reduced fromthe surface, wherein the crushed glass is pre-crushed, pre-screened,crushed, dried and screened prior to application on the surface.
 23. Amethod according to claim 22, wherein the crushed glass is dried totemperature about 200-350° F.
 24. A method according to claim 22,wherein the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40 mesh.
 25. Amethod according to claim 21, wherein the oil adsorbed on the crushedglass is further recycled as petroleum silica based product, waterrepellant product, roof shingles or asphalt.
 26. (canceled) 27.(canceled)
 28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. (canceled)
 31. A method ofcontainment of oil spills from an oil container, comprising the step of:surrounding the oil container at least in part with a layer of crushedglass.
 32. A: method according to claim 31, wherein the crushed glass ispre-crushed, pre-screened, crushed, dried and screened prior tosurrounding the oil container with crushed glass.
 33. A method accordingto claim 32, wherein the crushed glass is screened with at least a 40mesh.
 34. A method according to claim 32, wherein the crushed glass isdried to a temperature about 200-350° F.
 35. A method according to claim31, wherein the oil container is an underground oil storage tank.